1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to exchange of electronic information and in particular to context-sensitive exchange of electronic information.
2. Background Information
Conventional collaboration tools provide the possibility to have often used phrases (or images) automatically included in a document or electronic mail (email). For example, email documents mostly always end with a signature, where the author provides his/her name, job title, contact information, etc. Such collaboration tools allow a signature to be stored, and automatically include the signature text at the bottom of any new email or when replying to, or forwarding, a received mail. However, a single signature is not always appropriate for all purposes. When sending a formal business email, it is appropriate to include job title and contact information, but when sending an informal email to a friend it would be considered overly formal. When sending email to a university or research organization, a signature that includes academic qualifications and achievements is appropriate, but that may be considered pompous in other contexts. With such limitations, the most often used signature is stored, and then it is modified manually each time an email is to be sent to a person or group for which that signature is not appropriate.